Meet the new "social headphones" from Wearhaus

If you've ever been to a silent disco, you’ll know that listening to music through a pair of headphones doesn't necessarily mean that you have to shut out everyone around you.

Sharing music with friends that all wear headphones has traditionally been reserved for these kinds of parties, which is something the boys and girls from Wearhaus are trying to change.

The Wearhaus Arc, described by the company as “social headphones,” is designed to wirelessly synchronise multiple headphones using Bluetooth technology and thus share music with other people nearby.

Accompanied by a smartphone app, the headphones can be used to either tune in to whatever someone else is listening to, or to share and broadcast your own playlist.

The Wearhaus Arc also has a built-in LED light that, as they say, is designed to help you “express yourself through colour.”

The app isn’t only used for broadcasting or finding different people or playlists. It can also be used as a chat service, so that you can talk to other people without having to put the headphones down or scream over the music in your ears.

The headphones have simple, smartphone-like controls, with commands like tap (on the outside of the headphone ear) to play or pause, double tap to share, tap and hold to sync, swipe left or right to change the song, or swipe up or down to control the volume.

The headphones have a range of 65 feet indoors and 100 feet outdoors and the first batch is expected to ship in January 2015.